


For Better, For Worse

by Ab0019



Category: The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Translated, Work from school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:33:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18428816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ab0019/pseuds/Ab0019
Summary: After a long night of drinking, Darry believes nothing can get worse then his battle between a splitting headache and giant hangover.But holy-shit, was he wrong.





	For Better, For Worse

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it's me.
> 
> I originally wrote this one-two months ago for an ELA project based on The Outsiders. Translated from German, so don't shoot me. Enjoy?

_ For Better, For Worse _

“Robert, you’re swerving, you said you’d be okay to drive after having a few drinks!” Maria Curtis mumbled anxiously, her hand on her son’s, Darrel Curtis, knee. 

“I’ll be fine,” He scoffed back. “You’d be surprised about just how much waste I can handle. ” Darry, who had helped defeat his school’s archrival football team, suddenly found himself at a Soc party, something he never thought he’d find himself getting into. To celebrate the colossal 43-4 win, the entire team called a party at Bob Sheldon's house. The amazing thing? They meant everyone, including Greasers. Music, dance, cigarettes, drinks: The party was something to remember, and not just due to the fact that the social barrier had almost completely dissolved between the two social classes. Greasers smoking with Socs, Greasers dancing with Socs. . 

Heck, Darry was even sure one of the Greaser football players was making out with one of the Soc cheerleaders. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a little distant to the group. 

It wasn’t that they were excluding him, per say, Darry just wasn’t finding himself fitting in as much as he would have hoped. And that’s how he ended up in a corner, alone, nestling his fourth bottle of  _ Miller Lite.  _

“You good over here?” Someone-Darry tried to think who, but frankly he’d become as blind as a bat due to all the drinks he’d had that night- between swigs of his own drink. “We’re about to play a round of pool, you want in?”

Squinting his eyes to recognise the person in front of him happened to be Randy Anderson, Darry trotted a few feet before stumbling back to his original position. 

“. . No?” He managed to slur. “Though home sounds pretty great. . Would you happen to know where my keys wandered off to?” Randy scoffed and stared at Darry as if he’d grown another head; 

“Cut the gas, Curtis, I know I’m a bad friend but to hell if you think I’d let you drive yourself home. ”

“I’m fine,  _ Anderson. ”  _ Darry spat back with venom _.  _ “I’m not a baby, I can drive myself.”

But despite his protest, Darry knew he couldn’t drive just yet.

While he found himself arguing with Randy for a droning minutes, the two finally settled in an agreement where Randy would call the Curtis parents (As when Darry tried to do it he’d accidentally called a  _ White Castle  _ in Ohio) to come pick him up. 

 

“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t drive myself home. ” Darry protested groggily, though even he knew he wasn’t in a sober enough state to operate a machine that could potentially be fatal. Sure, he’d definitely improved mentally after downing a few Anacins and a bottle of pedialyte, though he knew it would be awhile before all the fog cleared.

“Come on, we’ve discussed this, I’d be missin’ a few gears if I were to send you out on the roads like that!” Randy began, but quickly cut himself off after realizing his explanation would only fall on deaf ears. “Besides, you don’t want to see your parents? They seemed like nice folks the last time I saw ‘em. ”

“More or less. Mom tries her best but Dad’s got problems like no other. ”

“Is he beating on you three?” Randy asked, referring to Darry and his two brothers with a hint of concern in his voice. 

Darry laughed bitterly, though he didn’t know why. Allas, having abusive parents weren’t too uncommon within his social class. Heck, even Johnny Cade, one of the Greasers within his own group, was familiar with the concept of parents who don't particularly care a whits. 

“Nah, nah, nothin’ like that. If that was to problem I'd've already taken Pony and Soda out of here and into a better, safer home. ” Darry said, pulling a pack of Camels out of his back pocket and gesturing for Randy to hand him a match box. “Damn fool’s a drinker. ”

Tossing over the matchbox and taking a cigarette of his own, Randy let out a soft chuckle and shoving Darry just enough to send him backwards a few steps. “Like you?” He grinned cheekily. But even in a tipsy state, Darry was not one who could be taken as weak. Quickly rebounding and shaking away the pre-lit cigarette, Darry launched forward  like an angry bull in an attempt to tackle Randy. 

“So that’s how you wanna play?” Randy grinned, running his fingers through his hair and jumping up in a way to show he was ready. “‘Cause you already know you’re not in the right state to be playing those games. ”

“You know I can beat you no matter what kind of state I’m in, you’re just scared a drunkie would be able to beat King Randel, leader of Oklahoma’s tuffest Greasers.  Destined to one day save his kingdom and marry a sleeping princess! ” Darry spat, throwing his cigarette and throwing it to the ground. While we wasn’t suited for driving, he could take anyone no matter the amount of drinks he’d had. 

“If you insist. . ” Randy said, throwing himself forward and tackling the tipsy man down. The two stored around on the ground, pulling hair here, punching the other in the gut there. . 

But Darry quickly jumped up and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. Sure, he knew he’d never use it, but that didn’t stop him from pressing the blade’s cold, metal point deep enough to cause a knick an crimson blood to start bubbling out. 

“Beg for mercy and take back what you said. ” Darry hissed, adjusting his grip on Randy but not sparing him the removal of the pocket knife. 

“No switchs, Curtis, you know the bloody rules. ” Randy pressed, gritting his teeth as Darry’s grip constricted  like a snake surrounding its prey . 

“ _ Beg for mercy,”  _ He repeated, but was quickly cut off upon the noise of a car door slamming and a slew of curses being let out due to heels getting stuck in the mud. Pulling back from Randy’s pinned body, Darry looked up to see who it was. 

“You know the rules, Darrel. ” Maria Curtis, his mother, growled as she removed her heels to prevent the mud ruining them any further. “Besides, you’re friend here told me you had a little too much to drink tonight, so I’d advise you’d get out before he turns the blade on you. ”

With a grunt and a few taunts from Randy, Darry pulled himself back to his feet and into the car, wincing as the overwhelming smell of yeast as he pulled open the door. 

“Hurry up, would yah? You’re letting all the cold in. ” Robert Curtis, his father, mumbled as Darry climbed in. He noticed along with the steering wheel, his father had been clutching a bottle of  _ Old Fitzgerald,  _ but thought better then to mention it. 

Darry heard his mom step in and say something to his dad, but didn’t mind to pay attention. No, infact, he found himself drifting off to sleep in the back of the car despite his consistent effort not to. It wasn’t long until he almost completely fell asleep, until. . 

**_BOOM!_ **

Waking up with a start and getting ready to jump out of the car, Darry starred up into the two front seats to see his parents arguing. 

“ _ Are you drunk?” _ His mother cried in anguis, wincing as her husband his a pothole. 

“I told you I’d only had a few drinks, I’m fine. ” His father shot back, though he seemed even more distant a dreary than Darry did. But despite his denial, everyone know Robert Curtis was in no better state to drive than Darry was. 

“ _ Robert, you’re swerving, you said you’d be okay after having a few drinks!”  _ Maria Curtis mumbled anxiously, her hand on her son’s, Darrel Curtis, knee. 

“I’ll be fine,” He scoffed back. “You’d be surprised about just how much waste I can handle. ”

Darry felt his mother’s grip get harder and harder as her breaths began to quicken. Looking up to Maria Curtis’s eyes, he realized her eyes had begun to well with tears, whatever makeup she was wearing starting to smear. 

Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing to face whatever wrath his father would throw at him, Darry carefully turned his head to meet Robert Curtis's front view mirror. 

“Dad, pull over. ” Darry said in the most stern voice he could muster, though he could feel his voice began to shake. “You aren’t suit for driving. Mom and I will just walk home. ”

With a fierce turn, Robert turned back to him with furry in his eyes, letting go of the wheel as he did so. Darry heard him bark something, and his mother scream something along the lines of “ **_The wheel!_ ** ”, but nothing could be heard over the crash and a shatter of the windshield. 

Darry felt himself slip out of consciousness just as the airbags triggered and car horns around them began to scream. 

 

“Wait, I think he’s waking up. . ” An unknown voice cried excitedly as Darry’s eyes began to flutter open. 

“Darry, are you alright? The doctors said the car was pretty wrecked when the police found you. ” Another one added. 

Darry slowly sat up to see his two brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop Curtis, staring anxiously back at him. He tried to stand up out of whatever bed he was in, but suddenly stopped when he found a huge bandage around his leg and an IV in his arm. 

“Why am I here? What happened?” He paled, trying desperately to climb out of the hospital cot and yanking out whatever wires and needles that had been stuck into his body. “What the  _ hell  _ happened?”

Carefully looking from Sodapop to back at Darry, Ponyboy hastily placed his hand on his brother’s knee as a way to say “Stay” before speaking again. 

“What. . What do you remember?” He breathed, taking a seat on one of the side chairs and patiently waiting for whatever response was to come. 

“What? I-I don’t know, we were driving, and then-” Darry cut himself off, his voice trembling. “I got wasted, and then Mom and Dad came to pick me up, and Dad was drinking. . ”

“And then you crashed. ”

Darry’s eyes welled up with tears as he quickly stood to his feet in an attempt to march out the door. His sore leg protested but he couldn’t let himself stop- he  _ had  _ to make sure they were okay. He could hear his brothers running after him, but he couldn’t let himself stop. 

Bursting through the door labeled “Curtis” and locking it behind his so Ponyboy nor Sodapop could get in, Darry couldn’t help but sigh a sigh of relief as he noted his mother-as beat up and worn out as she looked- was conscious. 

“Darrel?” She croaked, sitting up in her own cot to take a look other her son. “God you look terrible, are you okay?”

Darry felt a tear run down his, though whether it was of happiness or fear, he couldn’t tell. He grabbed his mother's hand and gave it a light squeeze as if to show he was truly there. 

“Me?” He smiled through his tears. “I’m just grateful you’re alive, mom. From what everyone's been saying, the wreck was terrible and had a fatal potential. ”

Darry felt his mother squeeze his hand before carefully retracting it shakily and resting it on her chest. 

“Darrel?” She whispered. “Let me see your eyes. ” Darry tilted his head towards his mother, just as she’d asked. 

“I love you, so much. ”

“What? Of course you do, you’re my mother. ” Darry said, trying his hardest to to keep his joyful smile but found it quickly slipping away. “Mom, why would you say that? We’re going to get through this, Me, Ponyboy, Sodapop, You and Dad, we’ll get through it. ”

“Darrel,” She wheezed, her voice becoming weaker and weaker. “You’re father died on impact and I’m slipping away faster than I care to admit. ”

“Come on my, don’t joke like this, you’re going to get through this. . ” Darry started to cry full on now, not even caring how wet the collar of his shirt was getting. “Come on, I’m too young for this, please. ”

Softly smiling, Maria Curtis let go of her son’s hand to grace it to wipe away his tears. “Darrel, I need you to promise me something. ”

“Mom, no, you can’t die on me, not now. ”

“Darrel. ” She said sternly, shutting him up for the time being. “Promise me this: Don’t let our deaths affect you. You’re stronger that what you give yourself credit for, even at your weakest moments. ”

“Mom, don’t do this-”

“Don’t interrupt me, ” she snapped, but immediately felt a pang of regret remembering their circumstances. “While you may always feel like you’ll never do a good enough job of watching over your siblings, you’re doing good enough. They’ll be multiple times you may want to slap them, especially Sodapop-”

She laughed at her own joke, but stopped once she launched into a horrid coughing fit and instead laid back weakly. 

“Mom, I promise everything, all of it, I promise..” he trailed off. Darry tried to add something else, but quickly found that he was at a loss for words.  _ He didn’t expect to see this all so soon.  _

Letting out what was possibly the weakest smile Darry had ever seen, his mother sucked in one more breath before mumbling something that may as well been inaudible if he hadn’t been so close. 

“Get out as early as you can. ” Maria Curtis said, her eyes fluttering closed for the last time  as she drifted away from life like a boat in the night.

Darry didn’t know what to do. He sat there waiting for something-  _ anything - _ , yet nothing ever came. He wanted to scream out, yell for a doctor, but somehow deep down, he knew it wouldn’t matter. . 

_ She was already gone.  _

“Are you alright?” Sodapop said warmly, placing a hand on his older brother’s shoulder to offer whatever comfort he could. “What’s wrong with mom?”

But instead of giving an answer, Darry merely stared up at his brother with teary eyes. He watched him pale with realization. 

“What does this mean for us? Will we be taken away?” Ponyboy asked anxiously as he played with the hem of his shirt. 

“Nah, nah. . ” Darry waved his hand, though he wasn’t even convincing himself. He didn’t know if they’d be taken away, or if he was even at risk, or anything like that. But if he was being truthful, he didn’t want to think about any of the potential possibilities right now. 

“Are we going to have to have a funeral for them?” Ponyboy asked, leaning into his morning brother as his spoke. It hadn’t quite dawned to Darry just how many responsibilities he’d have to take up now that both his parents had died. 

“I suppose so. . ” Darry sighed, pushing his brother off as he stood to walk out the door and get a nurse. 

“Do we have the money for that? For the funeral?” Sodapop questioned, running up to Darry before he managed to walk out completely. 

Darry hastily turned to his middle brother, fear and distress prominent in his eyes despite it attempts not to seem so. He knew they were as broke as they come, but he wouldn’t let himself say that, not yet. 

“We’ll be fine, I’ll get another job if I need to. ” Darry said, pulling away from his brothers and stalking down the hallway. He was originally going to find a doctor, but the hospital seemed so tense, almost constricting, and he had to get out of its god forsaken walls. 

Rushing through the corridors and ignoring the many protests of brothers and staff alike, it wasn’t long before Darry found himself outside the hospital’s main entrance. He heard Ponyboy and Sodapop run up behind him, but didn’t bother to run away yet again.  _ He had nowhere left to run to.  _

“I’m not ready to do this,” he said blatantly, wincing as he realized just how raspy his voice had become. Truthfully, though, he wasn’t directing to neither Sodapop nor Ponyboy. “I mean look at me, in the few minutes I’ve taken up being your two’s protectors, I ignored what’s important twice and then run away, not to mention the fact that I’m still not completely sober. ”

Looking from each other to back at their older brother, Sodapop and Ponyboy hastily sat down on the bench closest to the hospital’s entrance and gestured for Darry to join them. Without a word, Darry accepted the offer and took a seat next to them. 

“Darry, don’t feel like you need to take on all this responsibility. ” Sodapop began as he rubbed his knees in anxiety. “I know it’s hard on you-Heck, it’s a change for everyone-, but we’re going to get through this together. ” 

Shaking his head,  Darry threw his head into his palms to avoid any and all eye contact with his brother. 

“But that’s not your job!” Darry sulked, his voice muffled. “Mom told me to protect you, to care for for you, not for two kids to watch over their stressed out brother!”

“Darry, you’re not realizing you’re not an adult yet.” Ponyboy sighed as he placed a firm hand on Darry’s shoulder. “Sure, you’re the  _ closest _ to being it, but you still have a childhood left to savoir.”

“And there’s no way I’m not going to let you take care of Ponyboy by yourself, that’d be a little too evil on my part.” Sodapop slightly giggled.

Carefully removing his head from his palm, Dally looked up to see his two brothers- _ Gosh, had they always looked this old and mature _ ?-, and grimacing at the sudden burst of sunlight. Sure, he wanted to run away and forget about all that was to come, but frankly his leg nor his mindset were anymore suit for running or walking then it’d been only a few hours before.

“You promise we’ll be able to get through this?” Darry finally asked, wiping away what tears remained on his face.

“ _ Promise. _ ”

Grabbing his brothers hands for support and shakily walking through the hospital’s haunting doors, Darry entered with more confidence than when he originally ran out of, ready to face whatever the future was to offer.


End file.
